For Brian Lewis, four years as a running back on the Indiana University football team just wasn’t enough time in the Hoosier state.
A committee charged with finding a replacement for Columbus North athletics director Jeff Hester was glad they could help the former Hoosier find his way back to Indiana.
Lewis, 40, was formally announced on Monday as the 12th athletics director in Columbus High School/Columbus North history. His appointment is pending board approval on July 20.
“I’ve always liked Indiana overall as a state,” said Lewis, who played at IU from 1999-2003. “A lot of the guys that I’ve played with ended up staying in Indiana after college, so having those families and friends played a role in coming back to Indiana.”
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After college Lewis and his wife, who is from Ellettsville, returned to the St. Louis area where he grew up. He spent four years as assistant football coach at DeSmet Jesuit, helping the Spartans to the Missouri Class 6 State Championship in 2005, and two years as an assistant football coach and assistant girls basketball coach at his alma mater, Pattonville High School.
The past eight years, Lewis has been assistant athletics director and assistant football coach at Mary Institute & Country Day School in the St. Louis suburb of Ladue, Missouri. He helped MICDS earn 12 Missouri state titles — four in boys tennis; two each in boys golf, girls golf and girls track; and one each in baseball and girls cross-country.
Lewis, who also taught middle school physical education and was director of summer sports camps at MICDS, won the school’s Extra Effort Award for athletics and teaching in the 2019-20 school year.
“I’m definitely excited about the opportunity for me to step up and make sure that everything is taken care of,” Lewis said. “I don’t know everything, so obviously, there are going to be some things that I learn. Speaking to all the coaches I’ve had a chance to speak to, they’ve all been super helpful. They become part of your extended family. You want to make sure you have relationships with them and move things in the right direction.”
Those relationships were one of the things that made the biggest impression on North principal David Clark, who headed the eight-person search committee that included two administrators, three head coaches, the outgoing booster club president, and the Northside Middle School athletics director.
“We felt like he could come in and hit the ground running,” Clark said. “The biggest thing when we talked to his references were the relationships that he built with his kids were strong. That’s something that Mr. Hester did, and it’s something we did not want to lose. Those are things we’re used to, and we didn’t want them to drop off at all, so that was a huge plus for him. We were looking for someone with experience, high moral character, someone who had been in similar situation where they’re used to winning championships.”
Hester, North’s athletics director for the past 12 years, recently left to become the assistant athletics director at Carmel, the state’s largest school. Before he left, he gave the candidates for the North job a tour of the facilities.
Those facilities, along with the rest of the city of Columbus, helped sell Lewis on moving back here.
“I asked around, to people who know more about Columbus than I did, and they said it’s a very nice community, a very outdoorsy place,” Lewis said. “Basically coming to Columbus, having those opportunities fit best, and the school community, those factors played a role in me wanting to come back to Indiana.”
Clark said he had 22 applicants for the position, and seven of the top nine were from out of state. The committee interviewed four candidates and narrowed it to two before deciding on Lewis.
“It was an interesting year because you’re not seeing a lot of movement because of the coronavirus,” Clark said. “So we really feel blessed that we were able to find someone of Brian’s caliber and character.”
One of Lewis’ initial tasks will be making sure all of the sports programs are following Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and IHSAA guidelines in regards to COVID-19. Teams are allowed to resume in-person workouts and training on Monday.
“That’s definitely one of my top priorities,” Lewis said. “A lot of people have cracked jokes about making a move at a crazy time. We have some pretty good head coaches that are abiding by the IHSAA regulations. It’s definitely something that’s at the forefront. My job as an athletic director is to make sure we’re doing things the right way, and we’re keeping kids safe.”
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Name: Brian Lewis
Age: 40
High school: Pattonville (Missouri)
College: Indiana University
Occupation: Athletics director at Columbus North
Family: Wife Emily, children Maxwell and Cecilia
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Columbus High School/Columbus North athletics directors:
1914-21;Fred Busenburg
1921-22;Clifford Wells
1922-27;William Dobbins
1927-30;Wilkie Moody
1930-36;Walter Hall
1936-41;Frank Newsom
1941-42;George Boots
1942-52;Noel Genth
1952-55;none
1955-98;Bill Stearman
1998-2008;Hedy George
2008-20;Jeff Hester
2020-present;Brian Lewis
A meet-and-greet reception for new North athletics director Brian Lewis will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. July 9 in the athletics conference room. Per BCSC policy, those attending are asked to wear a face covering and abide by social distancing guidelines.
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